Vampire Senshi
by riven-del
Summary: Serenity, ChibiUsa, and Hotaru find shelter with the vampire clan residing in Vampire Mountain. With a half-vampire and a Prince to vouch for them, how long will the peace they find last before their past finds them? Can they find allies among the clan of nightwalkers?
1. Chapter 1

**Riven-del:** I do not own Sailor Moon nor Cirque du Freak. The only thing I do have rights to is the few OCs that'll be making an appearance here and there.

* * *

The full moon hung high in the sky as a woman with impossibly long hair carrying her pink haired toddler ran as fast as she could through the empty streets of Juban, Tokyo. She didn't have a coat despite the winter air that chilled her greatly.

"Serenity-hime!" A little girl with short black hair caught up with her.

"Hotaru!" the one named Serenity said. Suddenly they stopped as eight more figures appeared and Hotaru rushed up to the woman's side. They all were once proud guardians of the planet, but now the Sailor Senshi had decided to show their true colors to their leader.

"Give it up, Odango Atama," said Sailor Mars. "The only thing you were needed for was to birth ChibiUsa, now you can die!"

"Shut the hell up, Mars!" Hotaru snapped and transformed into Sailor Saturn. "If any of you try to lay a finger on Serenity-hime you will _all_ die!" She leveled her glaive threateningly at the traitors.

Serenity held her child close and closed her eyes. Her crescent moon mark glowed along with Saturn's mark and silver light enveloped the both of them.

"NO!" they heard a man shout just before Serenity, her child, and Hotaru were sucked through a portal, taking them away from danger.

* * *

Prince Paris Skyle was relieved to step foot outside of Vampire Mountain finally. The ancient vampire prince couldn't remember the last time he saw the night sky. As it was, the weather was perfect; no clouds could be seen on this night.

"Sire Paris?" the voice of a young adolescent caught his attention. Apparently he hadn't been the only one feeling the need to see the stars tonight. A young female vampire with chestnut hair reaching her shoulder blades and sporting neutral colored clothes approached him.

"Ah, Cassiera! I see it did not take you long to contract cabin fever," the elder prince greeted the newly blooded half-vampire. Cassiera was a new addition to the clan who had recently proved herself a worthy vampire.

"Actually, I felt something was to happen tonight," the young vampire said suddenly somber. "Something is about to happen."

"Child, what is the matter?"

"I'm not sure how to explain this, but I feel someone is searching for a safe haven and they'll come here tonight. Something happened to them and they will seek refuge among us."

Paris had heard from the child's mentor and several other generals that she had a supernatural sense. She could always sense the approach of a traveler or someone in need hours—even days—before they arrived. She could also detect if the person in question bore ill intent in some form or fashion, which allowed her and her mentor to avoid trouble on the roads. It was how she had managed to survive on her own as a human before she met her mentor.

"Cassiera—" Paris was cut off as a bright light descended from the full moon and landed in the forest below. Cassiera sprung ahead with Paris trailing behind her. "Wait, child! You must not go alone!"

"They will not harm us, Sire," was the response he received. Cassiera continued in the lead for several more minutes before they found who had come.

Three females laid on the snowy ground. One was fully grown with impossibly long silver hair, the sleeping child in her arms appeared to be no older than five years, and the last with cropped ebony hair fussed over her companions.

"Serenity, someone is here," the ebony child said standing in a defensive stance. It wasn't until then that Paris saw the glaive the child wielded, but Cassiera didn't appear fazed.

"Peace, my friends," the half-vampire said calmly. "We are unarmed and mean no malice towards you and your companions. I am Cassiera of the vampire clan that lays claim to these lands, and the elder with me is Prince Paris Skyle, one of our four rulers of the clan."

"Hotaru, put your glaive away," the one named Serenity pleaded with the younger girl, whom did as she was told with some hesitance placing the glaive magically in some place. To the vampires she addressed, "We are sorry for trespassing on your lands. We only seek shelter from those who betrayed us."

Paris laid his hand on Cassiera's shoulder and said, "What are you? You three smell nothing like any human I have encountered in my 800 years on this Earth."

"They are those who protect this world," Cassiera answered for them. "Originally they fought dark forces in Japan. They are trained warriors in the arts of certain magics. Sire Paris, can we grant them asylum for however long they need?"

"Cassiera, you know the laws of the clan," the elder prince lowered his voice. "We must tread very carefully about this."

"I know, but for now we must get out of open area. They have frozen long enough."

Paris didn't realize that Serenity had no coat and she was visibly shaking from the cold until then. With reluctance, he granted temporary asylum to the three females and lead them back to Vampire Mountain.


	2. Chapter 2

Serenity didn't know what to expect when she and her group traversed through the tunnels of a vampire lair. So far they had encountered mainly men vampires, many of which were shocked to see three unfamiliar females walking with one of their princes. They were led to what looked like a mess hall when the scariest vampire she had ever seen approached them.

"Cassiera, what is the meaning of this?!" The bald vampire sounded angry and Cassiera winced. It took all of Serenity's will power not to run in the opposite direction from this tattooed vampire. "Why are there humans following you and Prince Skyle? In _Vampire Mountain_ of all places?"

"Arrow," Paris spoke calmly, "do not frighten your apprentice so. You know she is practically bound by her ability to help travelers in need, even if they are not human like the three she has found."

"Not human?" Arrow walked closer to the three strangers and sniffed the air around them. "Indeed, you three are _not_ human, but neither are you vampires or vampaneze! What are you and why do you seek shelter among us?"

"Sire Arrow," Cassiera touched the massive vampire's shoulder. "Please, let them rest. When they are ready, they will explain their situation to the entire clan." There was a silent understanding between master and apprentice that Serenity couldn't identify. Arrow looked directly into his apprentice's eyes, silently beginning to understand whatever reason it was for Cassiera to protect these girls.

"Very well, this matter will be dealt with tomorrow. Have Seba find a room for them with hammocks; I doubt they'd like sleeping in coffins. Paris, I shall see you in the Hall of Princes." With that he stalked out of the hall.

"Forgive him; the journey every vampire takes to attend the Council weathers even the heartiest of veterans." Paris smiled at the girls. "Cassiera, when you are done with your charges, I will be expecting you in the Hall of Princes."

Being left with the young vampire, Serenity and her group were introduced to Vampire Mountain's Quartermaster, Seba Nile, a kind, elderly vampire that dotted on Cassiera. He guided them to a spare cell in a different part of the mountain and even gave them a short history of the clan's home. Soon he was needed elsewhere, but he promised to have food brought up to them before he left.

"I'll see you girls tomorrow evening," said Cassiera before leaving them to rest. "Do not leave this room without an escort; you could get lost in the massive place fairly easy."

"Thank you for everything, Cassiera-chan," Serenity said as she sat on one of the hammocks. The vampire gave them a slight smile.

"Sleep well," and with that she left.

* * *

Cassiera made her way through the mountain to the Hall of Princes, not looking forward to explaining _this_ to the clan. It was her first time to attend a Council—or even set foot on Vampire Mountain for that matter—and already she was stirring up trouble. She had given Arrow enough grief over the years since he first took her under his wing, she didn't want to bring any more drama to the clan.

"Cassiera?" The voice of another Prince brought her out of her musings. Clad in all black was Mika Ver Leth, the youngest of the Princes.

"Sire Mika, shouldn't you be in the Hall of Princes right now?"

"I wanted to confirm the rumor going around about three human females following you and Sire Paris."

"The rumors are partially true; our guests are not human, however. Tomorrow, everything will be explained at the Council, for it is not my place to elaborate on the girls' situation."

"I trust you, Cassiera," he draped his arm over her shoulders and began to lead her to the Hall of Princes. "I'm sure Arrow will trust you on this as well; your intuition has never failed you, even before you became a half-vampire."

"I hope so…" It was common knowledge that the terror of all things purple didn't hand out his trust easily, but with his apprentice it was different story—the robust giant had a soft spot for Cassiera even though she refused to see it.

"He will," Mika ruffled her hair making her smile. "Whether you wish to believe it or not, you have the fiercest prince wrapped around your finger."

"Why do you say that?"

"I think I'll let you figure that out and the reason why he keeps the men away from you." He let her go and raced ahead of her. "Come on, we'll be even later if you don't hurry up!"

"It's on now, old geezer!"

"Hey! I'm young! Paris is the old geezer!"

"Not when he can spank your behind in a race!" Cassiera zoomed past him. They both laughed and raced their way to the Hall of Princes. Cassiera had to make a stop to take her shoes off, giving Mika time to catch up a bit, but she was still in the lead.

Princes Paris and Arrow were waiting for the younger prince to show up when they saw a familiar blur of brown approaching them at high speeds.

"That's her," said an amused Paris.

"Meaning a certain black blob is not too far behind," Arrow chuckled before his apprentice came to a screeching halt before them while leaving tread marks in the stone path. "Cassiera, one these days you'll fall flat on your face and I will be too busy laughing to help you up."

"Arrow, you're so mean," she gave him an exaggerated pout face.

"We appreciate you finally showing up, Mika," Paris deadpanned to the younger prince coming up behind Cassiera. "If you're done playing around with your girlfriend we would like to get started with the meeting."

"Sire Mika has a _girlfriend_?" Cassiera asked, honestly surprised. Arrow sighed, Paris shook his head chuckling, and Mika looked somewhat crestfallen. "_What_? Did I miss something?"

"Oh, child," Paris patted her head, "stay naïve. Enjoy your blissful ignorance while you can." That just left her even more confused, and all three princes entered the Hall before she could ask any more questions.


	3. Chapter 3

Serenity woke up and wondered where she was when she saw a rocky ceiling. Then she remembered: the betrayal, her flight, the vampires and the mountain they had taken refuge in.

"Good evening, Serenity-hime," said Hotaru who was already awake and sitting up on her hammock with little Usagi on her lap. "We slept a long time."

"Indeed you girls did," said Cassiera as she entered the room. "It's not surprising considering you three traveled from Tokyo to here in a short span of time."

"How did you-?"

"Know that you three traveled such a far distance? I have a unique ability to sense the approach of a traveler and if they bring evil or good intentions. I'm the only one in the world with this gift, so in a way I'm the main freak in the vampire clan."

"You are _not_ a freak!" Serenity was surprised how casual their new friend sounded at calling herself a freak of nature. "You are blessed, gifted! How can you call yourself a freak?"

"I think Hotaru would be the best at explaining that later," Cassiera's tone closed the topic for now. "Come, I'm sure you three will want to visit a few places before we are summoned to the Council."

* * *

The young vampire lead them to the water closet (or the mountain's equivalent of a toilet room), then the cold shower area, then to the clothes storage where they found more appropriate attire to wear except for Usagi, and lastly to the 'dining hall'. Serenity knew it would take a long time for her to remember where everything was should she and her companions stay for a while. Cassiera was considerate enough to find them an empty table to sit at, but some of the vampires were still staring at their strange guests.

"You know it is _rude_ to stare," said Cassiera in a warning tone to the curious vampires. Said vampires went back to their previous conversations or continued eating their meal after Cassiera's warning.

"Barely new to the clan and already you command the respect of many vampires," said a long, blond haired vampire with three scars on his cheek.

"Good evening, Kurda," the younger vampire greeted the apparently young man. "I guess you're here to meet the guests? This is Serenity, Hotaru, and Usagi." She indicated to each girl as she said their names. "Girls, this is Kurda Smahlt, the soon-to-be-Vampire-Prince."

"Ah, so you are the three ladies I've been hearing about. It is a pleasure to finally meet you." The vampire smiled warmly to them. "It is rather unheard of to have outsiders as guests, forbidden in fact without permission from the Princes."

"All will be explained at Council, Kurda, but I will tell you that they sought a place to hide and Paris granted them asylum." Again Cassiera used the tone that said _don't ask any more questions until later_. "However, the timing of this couldn't be any worse. What is this I've been hearing about the vampeneze on vampire territory?"

"Vampeneze?" asked little Usagi.

"Our purple skinned cousins," Cassiera answered. "They are like us, but their laws are stricter than ours and they kill the prey they drink blood from every time they feed. Vampires only take small amounts of blood from their prey; rarely do we need it in large quantities like our wayward cousins."

"They sound scary," Usagi looked pale after her explanation and Cassiera felt bad for making her scared.

"Don't worry," she smiled reassuringly to the child, "my mentor, Prince Arrow, hates the vampeneze with a passion, more so than any other vampire in this mountain. If anything purple skinned sets foot in this mountain will get a very unwelcome reception."

"I guess it's a good thing I chose an all black outfit then," said Hotaru in good humor. "My favorite color is a dark purple."

"Hey, I have nothing against purple clothes, just purple skin," said the giant prince from behind the three girls. Arrow laughed when they jumped, startled from not knowing the giant vampire was right behind them. "Cassiera, Council will start within an hour. We will expect you and…" He looked into Serenity's direction, not having been introduced to the woman properly.

"Serenity," she said.

"We expect you and Serenity in the Hall of Princes during Council. Don't be late." Arrow walked away, probably tending to whatever business that needed to be done before the Council assembled.

"I'm coming too," Hotaru said immediately.

"No," said Cassiera. "There might be a reason why he specifically wanted Serenity to come by herself. If the princes want to know why you girls were on the run, they will want to hear one account at a time—"

"And I have the second half of the story behind our flight," the young girl argued. "It is only right that we give your clan a full account of what happened and who's after us."

Cassiera pinched the bridge of her nose and Kurda said, "She's got you there."

"Alright, you win, Hotaru, but Usagi _cannot_ come to Council for certain. We're pushing out luck as it is; not many outsiders are allowed to come _near_ or _enter_ the Hall of Princes unless circumstances dictate otherwise."

"Then, who will look after her?" Serenity asked already in protective-mother-mode. "She can't be left alone in a mountain full of vampires."

Cassiera replied by planting her face onto the table and sigh in frustration. Then the answer to their problem made itself known from one of the least likely vampires she knew.

"So _cute_!" a female voice nearly squealed and Cassiera shot up with an expression that clearly said _What the hell?_

"Arra?" said the young vampire greatly shocked to see _the_ Arra Sails hugging little Usagi.

"When did you develop a soft spot for children?" asked an equally shocked Kurda.

"Only for very young and cute ones," replied the normally tough woman vampire. "I wish I could look after her; the princes have called every general in the mountain for this meeting. Have you asked Seba if he could look after her?"

"Arra, with us just _now_ discussing this, do you think we've had the time to ask him for help?" Cassiera pointed out. "He's also a busy vampire being Quarter Master; he might not be able to."

"True, but you never know until you try."

* * *

As it turned out, Seba was more than glad to look after Usagi. With the young child under the care of the elder vampire, the group of two generals, two not-humans, and half-vampire made their way to the centermost part Vampire Mountain, to the Hall of Princes.

"Why did we have to take off our shoes?" asked Serenity after they passed the check point.

"It's more or less tradition, and it's also not allowed to bring weapons into the Hall of Princes," said Arra.

"Personally, I think it's to prevent a recap of Julius Caesar," commented Cassiera. The two generals and Serenity smiled at her reference.

"I don't think I'd ever see Prince Arrow saying _etu Brute_," Hotaru added to the humor and they all shared a chuckle.

Soon they entered a huge domed cavern with a glowing dome in the center. Serenity and Hotaru both stared in awe at the outside of the Hall of Princes while continuing to walk with the group. The inside was filled with rows of seats and in the center was a raised platform with four thrones and a blood red stone behind them.

"Look well, Serenity, Hotaru, for you are the first outsiders to ever enter the Hall of Princes," said Cassiera as she led them to the front row seats while Arra and Kurda sat farther back. "Arrow usually doesn't allow me to attend the meetings, but if I have to then I automatically get the closest seats to the thrones."

"Why?" asked Hotaru.

"Because I am Prince Arrow's apprentice; sometimes apprentices—or assistants as some vampires call the ones they blood—can follow in their mentor's footsteps and become a prince. The generals and other vampires are already trying to get onto my good side, and some are asking if I'll aim to be the first princess of the clan."

Silence fell over the entire hall before any more questions could be asked. The three princes in attendance to the Council made their way to their thrones and sat in accordance to their age with the oldest in the middle.

"To our right if Prince Mika ver Leth, the youngest of the princes," Cassiera told the two with her. "In the middle is Prince Paris Skyle, the oldest vampire and a living legend. You two met him the first night you came here. Lastly is my mentor, Prince Arrow, the vampire at the forefront of anti-vampaneze sentiment. They are the strongest and the most cunning vampires in our clan."

"Where's the king?" asked Serenity.

"There are only the princes; we have no need of a king."

"Cassiera, Serenity, to the front!"

"That's us. Let's go." Cassiera led Serenity and Hotaru to the front of the platform and they knelt before the princes.

"It is good to see you again, Serenity and Hotaru," said Paris, "but why are you here, Hotaru?"

"Sire Paris," said Cassiera, "there is more to their story than we first anticipated. There are apparently two parts to this: one side being Serenity's, and the other by Hotaru."

"Hmm. Serenity, you said you and your companions were betrayed, and with the power that brought you here to our lands, I worry for the safety of the vampire clan." The generals of the clan murmured silently at this. "If we are to shelter you from traitors we must know everything and if we should be on guard. Please, tell us everything."

Serenity looked to Cassiera, whom nodded in encouragement, and she stood. "Sires, I am Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom. A thousand years ago, my kingdom was part of a planetary alliance called the Silver Alliance, and my mother was the leader of this Alliance. My court consisted of the four princesses of the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. There was also Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, but they guarded the outskirts of the Alliance. Earth was not part of the Alliance, but I had been engaged to it's prince, Endymion. However, an evil soon destroyed the Alliance, and my mother sent me, my court, and Endymion to this era to be reborn. We regained our memories, defeated the evil and numerous enemies after it, but along the way we broke a taboo. We saw our most likely future. It was then that my friendship with a majority of my court became strained and fake. After we defeated our most powerful enemy, I had married Endymion and bore a daughter, Usagi. Five years later they showed their true colors, including Endymion. They were plotting to kill me and steal my most powerful artifact, but I heard them and fled with Usagi before meeting up with Hotaru. From there we teleported away from them and we ended up outside your mountain."

Hotaru stood and said, "Sires, I am the Princess of Saturn, Guardian of Destruction and Rebirth, Hotaru. I am the youngest of Serenity's court and the outcast because of my power to destroy planets. I lived among the Outer Guardians in this era and learned that theirs and the Inner's loyalties were not with Serenity. I also learned that Endymion only wanted Serenity for her power. They ignored me for the most part, not knowing that I was listening in on their plans to rid of Serenity once the throne of Earth was secured and Usagi had been born. I know not why they would betray their princess, but they are not the comrades I remember."

The hairs on the back of Cassiera's neck began to stand and she knew she only had seconds before something happened. She grabbed both girls and jumped before an explosion engulfed where they once stood. They landed on the platform and the dust cleared rapidly revealing a woman wearing a sailor suit with cropped, blond hair smirking evilly at them.

"Miss me, buns?"


End file.
